Applying Pervasive Technologies to Create Economic Incentives that Alter Consumer Behavior

Proceedings of Ubicomp 2009, Orlando, Florida, September 30-October 3. New York: ACM, pp. 175-184

10 Pages Posted: 21 Jan 2015

See all articles by Tetsuo Yamabe

Tetsuo Yamabe

Waseda University

Vili Lehdonvirta

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute

Hitoshi Ito

Waseda University

Hayuru Soma

Waseda University

Hiroaki Kimura

Waseda University

Tatsuo Nakajima

Waseda University

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

Economic incentives are a powerful way of shaping consumer behavior towards more commercially efficient and environmentally sustainable patterns. In this paper, we explore the idea of combining pervasive computing techniques with electronic payment systems to create activity-based microincentives. Users who consume additional resources by e.g., occupying an air-conditioned space instead of a normal space are levied additional micro-payments. In an alternative approach, consumers who choose to save resources are rewarded with micro-rebates off the price of a service. As a result, the cost of using a service corresponds more closely with the resources used, leading market mechanisms to allocate resources efficiently. A key challenge is designing incentive mechanisms that alter consumer behavior in the desired fashion. We introduce four incentive models, and present evaluation results suggesting that consumers make different decisions depending on which model is used.

Keywords: Persuasive technology, economic incentives, mobile payment, micropayments, activity-based micro-pricing, virtual currency

Suggested Citation

Yamabe, Tetsuo and Lehdonvirta, Vili and Ito, Hitoshi and Soma, Hayuru and Kimura, Hiroaki and Nakajima, Tatsuo, Applying Pervasive Technologies to Create Economic Incentives that Alter Consumer Behavior (2009). Proceedings of Ubicomp 2009, Orlando, Florida, September 30-October 3. New York: ACM, pp. 175-184, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2503296

Tetsuo Yamabe

Waseda University ( email )

1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku
tokyo, 169-8050
Japan

Vili Lehdonvirta (Contact Author)

University of Oxford - Oxford Internet Institute ( email )

1 St. Giles
University of Oxford
Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3JS
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.oii.ox.ac.uk

Hitoshi Ito

Waseda University ( email )

1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku
tokyo, 169-8050
Japan

Hayuru Soma

Waseda University ( email )

1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku
tokyo, 169-8050
Japan

Hiroaki Kimura

Waseda University ( email )

1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku
tokyo, 169-8050
Japan

Tatsuo Nakajima

Waseda University ( email )

1-104 Totsukamachi, Shinjuku-ku
tokyo, 169-8050
Japan

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